1. Trash or Treasure: Where does our waste go?

This Way Forward

The World Bank estimates that without urgent action, by 2050 we will be generating 3.4 billion tonnes of waste globally. So what can governments and citizens do to curb this trend? And whose responsibility is it? Our Trash or Treasure special will investigate which European countries are the biggest waste creators, which are leading the way in waste disposal and recycling – and we meet the people that are coming up with some surprising, innovative solutions to a Europe-wide problem.

In this, the first podcast, our correspondents from across Europe get up close and personal with their own garbage bins and make uncomfortable revelations about their own consumption. Then we take them on a journey of discovery to ask: If it isn’t recycled, where does our waste go? The answers take them to illegal dumps, incinerators and landfills across Europe. From the innovations in waste disposal which have earned Vienna the title ‘Greenest city in Europe’ to the eco disaster unfolding at a Bosnian dam, we look at the best and worst of Europe’s waste disposal solutions.